A Clever Stratagem Reversed the Winds of Yin and Yang, Three Thousand Raiders Turned to Charcoal
At the foot of the western cliff, the engineers wielded their knives to cut through the tangled vines, revealing a square ventilation shaft about ten feet wide, its opening drawing air from the valley.
Zhen Meili found her cloak cumbersome, so she untied it and threw it on the horse beside her. She rolled up the sleeves of her light yellow short jacket, revealing a pair of white, lotus-root-like forearms. She personally took a hammer and directed the engineers to connect the air outlets of ten large blowers to the edge of the dark well with wrought iron sheets.
The sacks of quicklime powder and sulfur were ripped open by the engineers with their bayonets and dumped into the wooden trough in front of the blower, forming a small, white and yellow hill.
Meanwhile, Lin Qingdai led fifty archers with incredible strength up the side peak halfway up the mountain. They tied a dozen or so freshly cut pine trees with tarpaulins, lit them, and pushed them down the steep slope, wedging them right in front of eight hidden holes that were emitting poisonous smoke.
Once the drainage channel was blocked, the white toxic smoke in the valley immediately decreased by more than half.
"Ignite! Crank!"
Beside the dark well, Zhen Meili let out a delicate shout and threw the torch in her hand into the sulfur pile at the front of the ventilation duct.
Twenty strong men were divided into ten groups, gripping the iron cranks on both sides of the large blower with both hands, shouting slogans as they cranked it with all their might.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Twenty ironwood blades spun rapidly inside the casing, creating a violent airflow.
The fifty bags of quicklime powder and sulfur powder in the wooden trough were swept up by the strong wind, mixed with the raging flames.
It transformed into a pale, raging dragon interspersed with flames, flowing backwards through the narrow, dark ventilation shaft into the main underground wind tunnel of the Iwami Silver Mine!
Front hall of the main mine shaft of Iwami Silver Mine.
This place was originally a large cave where miners sorted ore. Now, hundreds of torches are lit, and three thousand fully armed elite Japanese archers and samurai are guarding the various passageways.
Shōni Sukemoto climbed back to the front hall from the watchtower using the rope ladder, sat on the main seat covered with a bearskin, picked up a wooden bowl, and took a sip of sake.
"Judging by the time, the Yamata Mercury Smoke should have already covered the entire valley."
Even if Gu Moran had extraordinary abilities, he would be a blind, rotten-lung cripple by now.
The deputy general standing below quickly bowed and flattered him:
"My lord is wise! Once the poisonous smoke outside dissipates, I will lead my men out and cut off Gu Moran's head..."
He hadn't finished speaking.
Suddenly, a strange, eerie howl, like the wailing of ghosts and wolves, emanated from the twelve ventilation holes, each about the size of a bowl, that connected to the main ventilation duct overhead.
Woo boom!
The airflow that was being drawn out along the duct suddenly stopped without warning.
The next moment,
A scorching, violent backwind erupted simultaneously from the ventilation vent and the main mine tunnel behind it!
The headwind not only carried the cinnabar and mercury toxic fumes they had just released, but also dozens of bags of quicklime as fine as flour and pungent sulfur flames!
The ground beneath Iwami Silver Mine is already damp, and two underground rivers flow along the sides of the front hall.
When the overwhelming amount of quicklime powder entered the damp mine shaft, it immediately boiled and exploded upon encountering the moisture from the underground river and the accumulated water on the ground!
Sizzle!
The temperature in the mine's front hall soared within three breaths. Scalding hot alkaline white mist mixed with the backflowing mercury toxic gas instantly filled every inch of space, even knocking the torches on the walls askew.
"Ah! My eyes! My eyes!"
"Cough cough cough... My throat is burning!"
The two hundred Japanese archers guarding the forefront of the wind didn't even have a chance to react.
His face was covered in scalding hot quicklime powder, and his eyeballs, upon contact with the moist, hot quicklime, were instantly burned, bursting and oozing pus.
A bloodcurdling scream erupted as boiling alkaline fumes, a mixture of mercury and sulfur, poured directly into his trachea.
More than two hundred people were writhing on the ground, clutching their own necks, vomiting black blood mixed with chunks of cooked flesh.
"What's going on?! Why is the wind blowing back?!"
The wine bowl in Shōni Sukemoto's hand shattered. He covered his mouth and nose tightly with his sleeve, but his exposed forehead and the back of his hands were still scalded by the scalding alkali fumes, causing more than a dozen large blisters to appear, making his face contort in pain.
"My lord! The Great Yan army has found the hidden well for ventilation in the Kan position!"
They poured quicklime and gunpowder into the ventilation duct!
The lieutenant, his left eye covered in lime, stumbled over, tears streaming down his face.
"The front hall can't be held anymore. The army is crammed into the middle-level mine tunnels; if they stay any longer, they'll all be scalded and suffocated!"
Shōni Sukemoto felt a chill run down his spine as he listened to the shrill screams around him.
The location of the hidden well in the Kan position was known only to him and the few dead craftsmen who built the Silver Mountain.
Of course, that royal slut Takaichi Nanako also saw the master plan!
It must have been Takaichi Nanako, after regaining her senses, betrayed him and revealed the truth to Gu Moran!
"Retreat!
Retreat quickly to the deepest underground vault, the Heavenly Treasury!
Ignoring the 30,000 surviving soldiers trampling each other in the middle-level mine tunnels, Shōni Sukemoto grabbed the katana from the table and, leading several dozen of his personal guards, raced down the stone steps into the depths of the earth.
"Send two men to cut the iron chains connecting the mountain and the water veins, and lower the ten-thousand-pound Dragon-Slaying Stone to seal the silver vault gate!"
The lieutenant followed him, running alongside, and asked in a trembling voice:
"My lord, once the Dragon-Slaying Stone falls, those tens of thousands of brothers outside will be completely sealed in the poisonous fog..."
"I can't worry about that anymore!"
Shōni Sukemoto's eyes were bloodshot, and the blood blisters on his face burst, oozing yellow fluid.
"Go and find the fuse for that hundred catties of flammable oil hidden under the treasury!"
Gu Moran wants my three million taels of silver and the top-grade iron chest? Dream on!
Once he's in the treasury, I won't leave him a single tael of silver!
Two guards swung their swords and severed an arm-thick iron chain on one side of the passage.
Rumble!
A massive, three-foot-thick, and over ten-thousand-pound black granite slab, bearing the weight of a dragon, crashed straight down from the top of the mine tunnel with a deafening roar, following the stone grooves on either side coated with tart oil!
Outside the valley, a dull tremor came from the gravel ground beneath our feet, and even the wooden cage on the carriage jumped twice.
Gu Moran gently placed Kim Seon-a, whom he was carrying, against the saddle, listened intently for a moment, and then drew his Sea-Calming Sword from his waist.
"The mechanism that broke the dragon-severing stone has been activated inside; the Shōni Sukemoto are going to resort to desperate measures and destroy the treasury!"
Kim Seon-a Sun-ah's expression changed drastically. The top-tier iron box contained a geomantic map of Goryeo's dragon veins. If it were destroyed in the mine, the foundation of the Goryeo royal family would be completely severed.
"Your Highness, the main entrance to the mine is blocked by huge boulders. How do we get in?"
"The front door is a dead end, but the drainage ditch beneath the hidden well in the lower part leads directly to the side door of the underground vault!"
Gu Moran pointed the tip of his sword at the drainage ditch on the western side of the mountain wall, where hot water was bubbling out.
Turning his head to look at Xie Linyuan, who was standing under the pine tree on the high slope with his eyes closed in meditation,
" Young Master Xie, Shōni Sukemoto wants to blow up three million taels of silver and the entire mountain together."
"Your Peak First Rank external martial arts skills, are they only good for eavesdropping outside the military camp?"
Xie Linyuan opened his eyes, and the Nine-Turn Golden Wheel in his hand emitted a soft hum.
He glanced at Kim Seon-a, whose cheeks were slightly flushed, standing next to Gu Moran, his Adam's apple bobbed, and then he looked away, his voice hoarse:
"Your Highness, there's no need to provoke me."
"Since I have agreed to be your vanguard, I will not go back on my word."
"Happy!"
Gu Moran his sword and gave the order.
" Zhen Meili, stop the blower and pour cold water into the well to lower the pressure!"
Young Master Xie, Murong Xue, you two take five hundred elite assassins and rush in first along the drainage ditch of the Life Gate. Make sure to block the silver vault door before the Dragon-Slaying Stone completely closes!
Tuoba Mang, send ten Heavy Subduing Fire Thunder up to blast open the granite barrier at the front of the cave. I will bring Seon-a shortly after!
"Understood!"
Murong Xue picked up her spear, tore off her cloak and wrapped it around her head, then followed Xie Linyuan as they leaped down the high slope and plunged headfirst into the waist-high, still warm, drainage ditch.
Five hundred elite assassins, each with a short knife in their mouth, crouched low and followed closely behind.
At the same time, Tuoba Mang led his engineers to stuff ten Heavy Subduing Fire Thunder, each as thick as a water bucket, into the crevices of the boulders in the front of the mine shaft, lit the fuses, and ran away.
boom!
After the earth-shaking roar, the massive granite block blocking the main entrance was blasted into pieces.
The toxic white mist in the front hall had been diluted considerably by the cold water that Zhen Meili had poured in.
Gu Moran dismounted and grabbed Kim Seon-a's slightly cold hand:
"Stay close to me, into the cave!"